Sensex Snaps 11-Day Winning Streak; Nifty Falls As RIL, HDFC Bank Drag; PSU Stocks Rally
Asian equities dropped following tech-led declines on Wall Street as investors looked ahead to a week that includes Federal Reserve and Bank of Japan meetings.
Stocks slipped in South Korea and Australia at the open. Japanese markets are shut for a holiday, with the central bank due to meet later this week. Contracts for U.S. shares edged higher at the start of Asian hours.
On Friday, stocks fell in the U.S., with a $4 trillion option maturity amplifying volatility, pushing up the equity-volatility VIX gauge from its lowest level since 2020. Big tech losses were led by Nvidia Corp. and Meta Platforms Inc., which both fell more than 3.5%. The S&P 500 erased its weekly gain, while the Nasdaq 100 slid 1.8%. The Fed’s policy decision is scheduled for Wednesday.
Brent crude prices were trading above $94 a barrel, and WTI crude was above the $91 mark. The yield on the 10-year U.S. bond was trading at 4.33%, and Bitcoin was below the $27,000 level.
At 8:20 a.m., the GIFT Nifty, an early indicator of the Nifty 50 Index’s performance in India, was up 20 points, or 0.10%, at 20,186.
India’s benchmark stock indices scaled fresh highs on Friday to end at a record close. Nifty advanced for the third session, whereas Sensex rose for the 11th day, the longest streak of gains since October 2007.
Intraday, the S&P BSE Sensex rose as much as 0.60% to hit an all-time high of 67,927.23 points, whereas the Nifty advanced 0.46% to a record of 20,222.45 points. On a weekly basis, the indices advanced for the third week.
Auto and I.T. stocks rose, whereas real estate and fast-moving consumer goods shares were under pressure.
Overseas investors remained net buyers of Indian equities on Friday for the second consecutive session. Foreign portfolio investors mopped up stocks worth Rs 164.42 crore, according to provisional data from the National Stock Exchange. Domestic institutional investors turned net buyers and bought equities worth Rs 1,938.57 crore.
The local currency weakened 14 paise to close at Rs 83.18 against the U.S. dollar on Friday.
